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Age Ageing 2021 Jun 12. Epub 2021 Jun 12.

Geriatric Medicine Consultant, Harrogate District Hospital Foundation Trust, Harrogate, UK.

While tetanus is now a rare disease in the UK, it remains an important differential diagnosis for trismus and muscle spasms. Even more so in older adults, as this population is less likely to have received full vaccination. Hence, the highest incidence of tetanus in England is seen in older adults. Read More

Dtsch Arztebl Int 2021 Apr;118(15):262-268

Gynecologist's office, Munich; Member of STIKOGynecologist's office, MunichDepartment of Pediatrics, University Hospital WürzburgInstitute of Virology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm; Member of STIKOWorking Group Vaccination in Pregnancy, German Professional Association of Gynecologists, Munich.

Background: Vaccination during pregnancy can protect both the expecting mother and the unborn and newborn child from infectious diseases.

Methods: This review is based on publications retrieved by a selective literature search on the immunological particularities of infectious diseases affecting pregnant women, unborn children, and neonates, with particular attention to the guidelines of the German Standing Committee on Vaccinations (Ständige Impfkommission, STIKO) and the pertinent guidelines.

Results: Vaccination during pregnancy protects the expecting mother from a severe course of a number of different infectious diseases. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Jun 11;21(1):553. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Background: The global Immunisation Agenda 2030 highlights coverage and equity as a strategic priority goal to reach high equitable immunisation coverage at national levels and in all districts. We estimated inequities in full immunisation coverage associated with socioeconomic, geographic, maternal, child, and place of birth characteristics among children aged 12-23 months in Kenya.

Methods: We analysed full immunisation coverage (1-dose BCG, 3-dose DTP-HepB-Hib (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B), 3-dose polio, 1-dose measles, and 3-dose pneumococcal vaccines) of 3943 children aged 12-23 months from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Jun 9;11(1):12134. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN), 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki City, Osaka, 567-0085, Japan.

Tetanus is a fatal disease caused by tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT). TeNT is composed of a light chain (Lc) and a heavy chain, the latter of which is classified into two domains, N-terminus Hn and C-terminus Hc. Several TeNT-neutralizing antibodies have been reported, but it remains unclear which TeNT domains are involved in neutralization. Read More

Ther Adv Vaccines Immunother 2021 25;9:25151355211015842. Epub 2021 May 25.

Research Center of Pediatric Infectious diseases, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine administration is still advocated for children under 7 years of age in Iran. However, there is no recommendation for the administration of a dose of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine to childbearing age/pregnant women in the Iranian vaccination program and it has increased the risk of infection through waning immunity during women's childbearing age life. The study aimed to assess the levels of anti- antibodies in childbearing age women of different ages in Iran. Read More

Med Hypotheses 2021 Jun 1;152:110619. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Suleyman Demirel University School of Medicine, Department of Hematology, Dogu Yerleskesi Cunur, Isparta, Turkey. Electronic address:

Sars Cov-2, the pathogen which belongs to the beta coronavirus family that is responsible for COVID-19, uses Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor, which is responsible for controlling the actions of renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Sars Cov-2 - ACE2 binding leads to a RAS mediated immune response, which targets especially lungs to form ARDS, which in turn, is the most important cause of mortality in COVID-19. CD8 T cell response dominates over CD4 T cell response and natural killer cell dysfunction also leads to CD4 cell dysfunction in COVID-19; this immune dysregulation leads to inappropriate (ARDS) and inadequate (low or quickly waning antibodies) responses to the disease and unfortunately, prepares the patients for re-infections. Read More

Equine Vet J 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

University Equine Clinic - Internal Medicine, Department for Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria.

Equine parvovirus hepatitis (EqPV-H) was first described in 2018 in a fatal case of Theiler's disease which followed the administration of an equine-origin biological product. The virus has since been frequently identified in serum and liver tissue of horses affected by Theiler's disease - an acute, severe hepatitis characterised by fulminant hepatic necrosis with a fatal outcome in most cases. EqPV-H is hepatotropic, appears to be associated with subclinical to severe hepatitis in horses, and is a likely cause of Theiler's disease. Read More

BMC Med 2021 Jun 8;19(1):138. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Immunisation and Countermeasures, National Infection Service, Public Health England, London, UK.

Background: Pertussis vaccines containing three or five pertussis antigens are recommended in pregnancy in many countries, but no studies have compared the effect on infants' antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations. The aim of this study was to compare anti-pertussis IgG responses following primary immunization in infants of mothers vaccinated with TdaP-IPV (low dose diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, acellular pertussis [five antigens] and inactivated polio) or TdaP-IPV in pregnancy (three pertussis antigens).

Methods: This multi-centre phase IV randomized clinical trial was conducted in a tertiary referral centre and primary care sites in England. Read More

Clin Exp Pediatr 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

In April 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety licensed a hexavalent combined diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP), inactivated poliovirus (IPV), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugated to tetanus protein, and hepatitis B (HepB) (recombinant DNA) vaccine, DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB (Hexaxim®; Sanofi Pasteur), for use as a three-dose primary series in infants aged 2, 4, and 6 months. The DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB vaccine is highly immunogenic and safe and provides a long-term immune response based on studies performed in a variety of settings in many countries, including Korea. This report summarizes the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Korean Pediatric Society guidelines for the use of this newly introduced hexavalent combination vaccine. Read More

Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2021 Mar 22. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Canada.

Vaccination in pregnancy (VIP) is dually beneficial - it protects the mother and the baby from tetanus, influenza, and pertussis. VIP uptake is low in many countries. Vaccine hesitancy, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a "delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite the availability of vaccination services" is one of WHO's ten threats to global health per 2019. Read More

Vaccine 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

Objective: This scoping review mapped studies using real-world data (RWD) to measure pediatric safety and effectiveness of vaccines administered to pregnant women.

Introduction: In the US, two vaccines are recommended for all pregnant women to prevent illness in the infant: inactivated influenza vaccine (recommended since 2004), and the combined tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine (recommended since 2013). This scoping review maps the studies conducted to date that address questions about pediatric safety and effectiveness of vaccines administered during pregnancy and provides a knowledge base for evaluating the use of RWD to study this issue. Read More

Vaccine 2021 Jun 1. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Vaccines and Immunity Theme, Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, Gambia; The Vaccine Centre, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Background: Vaccination during pregnancy can protect pregnant women and their babies from infectious diseases. Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid, is the only vaccine given to pregnant women in The Gambia and Senegal, where it is given by antenatal care providers as part of the Expanded Programme on Immunization. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore factors influencing acceptance of vaccination during pregnancy in The Gambia and Senegal. Read More

Arch Public Health 2021 Jun 4;79(1):92. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Department of midwifery, school of nursing and midwifery, college of medicine and health sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.

Background: Tetanus is a vaccine-preventable disease that can occur in all populations, with neonates and pregnant women being at the most risk. Ethiopia has the highest maternal and neonatal tetanus morbidity and mortality rates. Besides, only 49% of mothers get vaccinated with adequate tetanus toxoid in Ethiopia which is below the world health organization recommendation. Read More

J Nutr 2021 Jun 4. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

UC Institute for Prediction Technology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.

Background: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are demand-side interventions that link cash receipt to fulfilment of health-promoting conditions such as regular health check-ups and investment in human capital. In 2011, the Indian state of Odisha, implemented a statewide CCT program-the Mamata Scheme-towards improving maternal/child health outcomes and promoting health-seeking behavior. Mamata targets pregnant and lactating women aged ≥19 y, and provides a sizable financial incentive relative to household income levels. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2021 Jun 4:1-6. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Infectious Diseases Division, icddr, b, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Age-appropriate vaccination is crucial for infants, protecting them from vaccine-preventable diseases. Delaying in starting initial immunization may result in incomplete or non-vaccination in early life. However, limited vaccine coverage data are available regarding the starting age of vaccination. Read More

Adv Sci (Weinh) 2021 Jun 3:e2002751. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, China.

Tetanus is a fatal but vaccine-preventable disease. The currently available tetanus vaccines are tetanus toxoid (TT)-based. Although these vaccines are generally effective, challenges in vaccine development and access remain. Read More

Bioconjug Chem 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Laboratory of Adjuvant and Antigen Research, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, United States.

Opioid use disorders and fatal overdose due to consumption of fentanyl-laced heroin remain a major public health menace in the United States. Vaccination may serve as a promising potential remedy to combat accidental overdose and to mitigate the abuse potential of opioids. We previously reported the heroin and fentanyl monovalent vaccines carrying, respectively, a heroin hapten, 6-AmHap, and a fentanyl hapten, AmFenHap, conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT). Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2021 May 8;9(5). Epub 2021 May 8.

Department of Physiology, 567 Wilson Road, Room 1104 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

This study examines the relationship of pneumococcal vaccination rates, influenza, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccinations (DTP), polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (tuberculosis) vaccination rates to COVID-19 case and death rates for 51 nations that have high rates of COVID-19 testing and for which nearly complete childhood, at-risk adult and elderly pneumococcal vaccination data were available. The study is unique in a large number of nations examined, the range of vaccine controls, in testing effects of combinations of vaccinations, and in examining the relationship of COVID-19 and vaccination rates to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Analysis of Italian regions and the states of the United States were also performed. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 May 4;18(9). Epub 2021 May 4.

Public Health: Prevention and Psychosocial Health Research, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.

Preventing infectious diseases through vaccination becomes more significant among the growing population of people aging with HIV. Coverage rates for vaccinations and factors associated with vaccination utilization among this population in Germany are unknown. We assessed the coverage of eight recommended vaccinations in a certain time frame in our convenience sample of 903 people living with HIV aged 50 years and older. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 13;11:688755. Epub 2021 May 13.

The Anticancer Fund, Strombeek-Bever, Belgium.

Vaccines used to prevent infections have long been known to stimulate immune responses to cancer as illustrated by the approval of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to treat bladder cancer since the 1970s. The recent approval of immunotherapies has rejuvenated this research area with reports of anti-tumor responses with existing infectious diseases vaccines used as such, either alone or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Here, we have reviewed and summarized research activities using approved vaccines to treat cancer. Read More

Front Physiol 2021 14;12:652299. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of Neurobiology, Poznan University of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland.

Post-tetanic potentiation (PTP) of force depends on intramuscular Ca levels and sensitivity and may be affected by fatigue. The aim of this study was to determine the ability of isolated fast fatigue-resistant (FR) and fast-fatigable (FF) motor units (MUs) to potentiate force evoked with single and 40-Hz electrical stimulation after 5 weeks of voluntary weight-lifting training. Tetanic contractions evoked by gradually increasing (10-150 Hz) stimulation frequency served as conditioning stimulation. Read More

Sci Adv 2021 05 28;7(22). Epub 2021 May 28.

Severance Biomedical Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.

Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), various vaccines are being developed, with most vaccine candidates focusing on the viral spike protein. Here, we developed a previously unknown subunit vaccine comprising the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein fused with the tetanus toxoid epitope P2 (RBD-P2) and tested its efficacy in rodents and nonhuman primates (NHPs). We also investigated whether the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N) could increase vaccine efficacy. Read More

Vaccine 2021 May 23. Epub 2021 May 23.

RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401, United States; Southern California Evidence Review Center, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, 2001 N Soto Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States.

Background: Understanding the safety of vaccines is critical to inform decisions about vaccination. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review of the safety of vaccines recommended for children, adults, and pregnant women in the United States.

Methods: We searched the literature in November 2020 to update a 2014 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality review by integrating newly available data. Read More

Vaccine 2021 May 25. Epub 2021 May 25.

Dept. of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Franz-Joseph-Strauss-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. Electronic address:

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) results in a loss of humoral immunity and subsequent risk for severe infections. Thus, re-vaccination is required but may fail due to incomplete immune reconstitution. We retrospectively analyzed predictors of immune response to primary vaccination applied according to the EBMT (European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group) recommendations. Read More

Int Health 2021 May 28. Epub 2021 May 28.

Faculty of Sciences and Health Technics, Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea.

Background: Tetanus is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. In 2018, all of Guinea was considered to be at risk of the disease and the country is currently in the elimination phase.

Methods: A 5-y audit (1 January 2014-31 December 2018) of all admissions to the neonatal and general paediatric units of Kamsar Hospital (Western Guinea) was undertaken to identify cases of neonatal tetanus (NNT) and postneonatal tetanus (PNNT). Read More

Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2021 20;14:2079-2087. Epub 2021 May 20.

Primary Care Unit ASL RM 1, Rome, Italy.

This narrative review is the final output of an initiative of the SIM (Italian Society of Mesotherapy). A narrative review of scientific literature on the efficacy of fractional intradermal vaccination in comparison with full doses has been conducted for the following pathogens: influenza virus, rabies virus, poliovirus (PV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis bacterias (DTP), human papillomavirus (HPV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JE), meningococcus, varicella zoster virus (VZV) and yellow fever virus. The findings suggest that the use of the intradermal route represents a valid strategy in terms of efficacy and efficiency for influenza, rabies and HBV vaccines. Read More

J Immunother Cancer 2021 May;9(5)

Surgery, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Background: Experimental cancer vaccines are traditionally administered by injection in subcutaneous tissue or muscle, commonly with adjuvants that create chronic inflammatory depots. Injection of melanoma-derived peptides induces T cell responses; however, the depots that form following injection may inhibit optimization of the immune response. In skin, epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) are a dominant source of professional antigen presenting cells. Read More

J Prim Care Community Health 2021 Jan-Dec;12:21501327211014071

Howard University College of Pharmacy, Washington, DC, USA.

Vaccine preventable diseases are responsible for a substantial degree of morbidity in the United States as over 18 million annual cases of vaccine preventable disease occur in the U.S. annually. Read More

Biotechnol Adv 2021 May 23:107781. Epub 2021 May 23.

TBI, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, Toulouse, France. Electronic address:

Tetanus vaccination is of major importance for public health in most countries in the world. The World Health Organization indicated that 15,000 tetanus cases were reported in 2018 (Organization, World Health, 2019). Currently, vaccine manufacturers use tetanus toxin produced by Clostridium tetani fermentation in complex media. Read More

Acta Paediatr 2021 May 24. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Pediatrics, Foundation IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.

Aim: To document the decline in vaccination coverage in the first months of 2020 as an indirect effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We performed a literature review in medical databases. Overall, 143 articles were initially retrieved, out of which 48 were selected and included in the review. Read More